1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for installing a device driver in a client device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, when distributing a driver from an administration server to a client device, a task is formed by an association of the client device in a distribution destination, a printing apparatus, and the driver. By executing this task, the driver is installed in the client device (See, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-203929 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-203930.
Here, a driver means a piece of software forming printing data for realizing printing in a printing apparatus of a client device, i.e., a so-called printer driver. Hereinafter, it will be simply referred to as the driver. An association is an item of information composed of device information and driver information. Device information means information enabling the identification and selection of an arbitrary printing apparatus (device) from among a plurality of printing apparatuses (devices) for performing printing from a printing apparatus, such as printing apparatus name, product name, location, and IP address. Driver information means information enabling the identification and selection of an arbitrary driver from among a plurality of drivers, such as driver name, printer name, version, and language.
If an association between device information and driver information are previously established, when distributing a driver to a client device, association information prepared is selected without selecting a printing apparatus and a driver each time, so that an appropriate installation of the driver is realized in the client device. In conventional art, the association relationship between a printing apparatus and a driver is a [1:1] relationship, in which one driver is associated with one printing apparatus.
The above-described conventional technique involves the following problems when preparing in an administration server a task for installing an appropriate driver in a client device. Suppose, for example, there are four printing apparatuses in a network administered by an administration server, and the respective names of the printing apparatuses are Device A, Device B, Device C, and Device D. Suppose, further, Device B, Device C, and Device D are the same products. Each printing apparatus is provided with a page definition language (PDL) for realizing printing, and the driver to be used normally differs depending on the PDL. Here, Device A is equipped with printer control language (PCL) and postscript (PS) as the PDLs, and Device B, Device C, and Device D are solely equipped with PCL. Printer control language (PCL) and Postscript (PS) are well-known PDLs; the former is a PDL manufactured by Hewlett-Packard (HP), and the latter is a PDL manufactured by Adobe. It is also well known that various PDLs are provided by manufacturer-vendors of printing apparatuses. In installing a driver for such a printing apparatus in a client device, the following cases are imaginable.
(1) In the case of a client device which solely uses Device A and which uses PCL and PS as appropriate, it is necessary to install a PCL driver compatible with Device A and to install a PS driver compatible with Device A.
(2) In the case of a client device which uses Device B, Device C, and Device D as appropriate, it is necessary to produce out of a single PCL driver three printers whose output ports differ from device to device. Here, in the case, for example, of Windows Operating System (OS) (registered trademark), the three printers refer to printers allowing checking with a printer folder.
(3) In the case of a client device which uses Device A and Device B as appropriate and which uses PCL and PS as appropriate with respect to Device A, a PCL driver compatible with Device A, a PS driver compatible with Device A, and a PCL driver compatible with Device B are installed.
In thus utilizing association when preparing a task for installing a driver from an administration server in a client device on the assumption that a plurality of PDLs and devices are used as appropriate in the client device, the following measures must be taken:
In the above case (1), it is necessary to previously prepare an association of Device A and a PCL driver compatible with Device A, and an association of Device A and a PS driver compatible with Device A. Therefore, each association needs to be selected when preparing a task.
In the above case (2), it is necessary to previously prepare an association of Device A and a PCL driver compatible with Device A, an association of a PCL driver compatible with Device B, and an association of a PCL driver compatible with Device C. Then, each association needs to be selected at the time of preparing a task.
In the above case (3), it is necessary to previously prepare an association of Device A and a PCL driver compatible with Device A, an association of Device A and a PS driver compatible with Device A, and an association of Device B and a PCL driver compatible with Device B. Then, each association needs to be selected at the time of preparing a task.
In any case, in the conventional technique to establish a [1:1] association between a printing apparatus and a driver, it is necessary to previously prepare a plurality of associations although a single printing apparatus is used, and to previously prepare a plurality of associations although a single driver is used. As a result, when preparing a task for installing a driver in a client device, there is a possibility of erroneous selection because it is necessary to select a plurality of associations, and a problem arises in terms of usability due to the bothersome selection. Further, this leads to an increase in total cost of ownership (TCO).